It’s said the only thing to fear is fear itself, but whoever said such a thing first clearly has never met disgusting creepy-crawlies. Somehow, despite being one of the most universal fears there’s been shockingly few horror flicks on spiders and insects.
The best horror film about spiders, appropriately titled Arachnophobia is getting some much overdue love online, as the film eases past its 32nd anniversary. An absolutely star-studded film, it’s one of the best ever horror films to be rated a lowly (and family friendly) PG. A stellar way to ease your kids into spooks, it’s being celebrated on Reddit.
With John Goodman and Jeff Daniels as its leads, it only makes sense it also leans into the more comedic side. Born out of a post B-movie world, Arachnophobia is perhaps best remembered for making spiders even more horrific than they have any right to be.
Some are contesting this being a fun gateway film into horror for kids, with reports of it scarring some for life: or doing exactly its job and getting people into horror for the rest of their existence.
Thanks to the limitations of the time, all of the spiders shown in the film were in fact real spiders. In order to get the spiders to give their Oscar-worthy performances, wranglers used sound waves to get them to move on set. Frankly, it’s far more impressive than any level of CGI used nowadays.
Exposure therapy is all the rage in medical fields, and perhaps an unintended use for Arachnophobia is to get those fearful of spiders to face their fears properly. Or further traumatize you. Whatever floats your boat.
Arachnophobia is available to stream from Peacock, with talk of a remake surfacing soon from Hollywood.
